Sarah Valencia

Sarah Valencia serves as a Contract Specialist Trainee within the Apache-Sitgreaves National Forests, supporting the U.S. Forest Service’s mission of sustainable land stewardship and ecological resilience. In this role, she assists in the full lifecycle of federal acquisitions, from requirement development and market research to solicitation drafting and contract administration. Her work primarily supports environmental and infrastructure projects critical to wildfire mitigation, trail and road maintenance, and habitat restoration. She collaborates closely with land management teams to translate operational needs into compliant, defensible procurement actions aligned with FAR and USDA guidelines. While specific contractor relationships are not yet established due to her trainee status, Sarah engages with a diverse pool of vendors specializing in environmental consulting, surveying, and forest support services. She is building relationships with firms experienced in ecological restoration, land surveying, and remediation, often coordinating with subject matter experts to ensure technical accuracy in solicitation requirements. Her approach emphasizes collaborative vendor engagement and clear communication to foster transparency and competitive responsiveness. Sarah demonstrates a strong commitment to small business participation, with approximately 41.4% of acquisitions structured as total small business set-asides under FAR 19.5. Her procurement activities consistently prioritize opportunities for small businesses, including those certified under HUBZone and SBA size standards, reflecting the agency’s strategic emphasis on local economic development and workforce capacity building. Her primary procurement focus centers on NAICS 541370 (Surveying and Mapping Services) and 541620 (Environmental Consulting Services), with significant activity in remediation (562910) and forestry support (115310). She specializes in acquiring technical services for topographic mapping, vegetation analysis, soil stabilization, and ecological monitoring—domain expertise that supports the agency’s climate-adaptive land management goals and science-based decision-making.